


The Origin Story of Double Trouble

by Just_Ciel



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AU, Bittersweet Ending, Canon Non-Binary Character, Other, Past Lives, also! cute kittens!, time skip, which Double Trouble insults at first but they warm up to them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 11:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21445375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Ciel/pseuds/Just_Ciel
Summary: Double Trouble tells Catra about where they came from. May or may not be the full truth exactly.
Relationships: Catra/Double Trouble (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 136





	The Origin Story of Double Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't stop thinking about where Double Trouble possibly came from and so wrote this on the spur of moment for heck of it ahaha! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> [also in context Catra here is still trans as in all other of my stories but she's on hormones so she's also able to nurse the kittens]
> 
> Is this very self-serving? Perhaps!

“Catra? Where are you my little darling?”

Take this scene at Bright Moon, Double Trouble is lurking between rooms, searching for their friends that they haven’t seen in weeks. And they learn soon why once they find a bedroom belonging to the hero of Rebellion and her lover.

“Are you in here?” they called out as they entered. “It’s been so long since we saw each other, I was wondering if we could go out-”

Double Trouble paused their words once they noticed what was lying on the bed before them. Catra curled up around a litter of nursing kittens.

“Ok, _ew_, what are those things?” Double Trouble tilted their head as they observed with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

“Hello to you too Double Trouble,” Catra sighed as she looked up to them. “What, you never seen a kitten?”

“Nope,” they crept closer cautiously to the edge of the bed. “Are those a type of ‘babies’ I’ve heard so much about?”

“Yeah,” Catra mumbled tiredly, nuzzling one of her cubs that had started fussing. “Adora needs a break, so I’m watching over them for a bit.”

“Well, can’t you just leave them?” Double Trouble pouted. “We could go out for a drink and-”

“I can’t,” Catra shook her head exasperatedly. “The kittens are too vulnerable right now, they have to be fed, be bathed, and kept warm constantly.”

“Not even for few minutes?” Double Trouble sat down on the bed, keeping a healthy distance from her. “Are they really so helpless? Poor things, I was left on my own you know, and I turned out perfectly fine.”

Catra twitched into alertness, looking at them with great concern. “Really? Did you not have any parents?”

“Nope,” Double Trouble leaned back onto the pillows, crossing arms behind their head as they crossed their legs. “There was no parental figure as you would call it in sight when yours truly first hatched into this world, all alone in this great expanse of desert with no life to see for miles around.”

“...I’m sorry,” Catra’s ears lowered.

“Don’t be,” they stared off into space pondering, then turned to her. “You know, I’ve never mentioned this tidbit to anyone before.”

“How did you even survive?” she couldn’t help asking. Part of her was intrigued, this could be her chance to learn more about inscrutable thespian that was Double Trouble.

“What? You want to hear all about my back story?” they barked out a laugh, facing Catra. “All right darling, I’ll tell you, just...some parts might be a little embellished.”

“I’m listening,” Catra watched patiently, her whisking tail betraying her inner excitement.

Double Trouble laughed again, scooting closer to her. “All right, all right, you heard it first here. The one, the only, Origin Story of Double Trouble! Playing at theaters...nowhere.”

One of the kittens whined causing Catra to flinch. “Sorry, sorry, no offense but...can you tone your voice down a bit? Some of them are sleeping.”

Double Trouble frowned. “Hmm, tough audience.”

–

Well, little me, much cuter than your fuzzy ones, was born alone into this world. Not even a sibling, just scattered remnants of eggshells around me when I kicked my way into life. Like I said, my eyes saw nothing but a vast expanse of red sand for miles around.

But did I cry and despair at my predicament? Never! I picked a direction and walked off that way. Yep, I was already walking on my own two feet unlike those sad crawling bugs of yours.

–

“Can you stop insulting my kids?” Catra grumbled.

“I just DON’T understand!” Double Trouble spread their arms. “They’re so tiny and useless like grubs, they don’t even have their eyes open! What’s so special about them?”

“...They’re cute?”

“Depends on who you ask.”

“...Me and Adora made them, that’s pretty special to us.”

“Ah yes, that parental-child connection,” Double Trouble sighed. “Not that I would know anything about that. Now where was I...”

–

Right. Me. All alone in this waste. How did I ever survive?

Simple! I ate bugs – lots and lots of them. There’s surprisingly a rich ecosystem of insects in Crimson Wastes, did you know? Sometimes if I was lucky enough, I even got to catch and eat one of the lesser, unevolved reptile brethren. Mm, juicy raw lizard, now there’s a memorable taste I haven’t thought about in ages. You should try it sometime.

“No thanks.”

Hmph. And if I was really, REALLY lucky. I also found eggs in dirt nests that I’d slurp up. Never one of my own though! I promise you that, I wasn’t a degenerate.

“Thank goodness.”

That was my life for...actually, I have no idea how long I was out there alone in the desert. I’d guess I was about as tall as that spunky ice princess of ours when my life changed.

I was stalking this big beetle when I saw something off in the distance I’ve never seen before. A caravan of bigger creatures we call people! So naturally, I said hello to them.

–

“Hiss!!”

“Oh my, oh my, what’s this darling little thing?” one of the group members cooed, an orc-like woman that towered over the rest.

“It looks like one of Tung Lasher’s people to me,” another commented, this one a male faun. “But I’ve never seen one this small.”

He leaned down to reach out but hastily withdrew when the reptilian child snapped at his fingers. “Whoo! Ok, yep, still aggressive just like those snakemen.”

“Aw, I’m sure they’re just hungry and could use a friend,” the orc smiled gently as they crept closer to the young Double Trouble while rummaging in their cloth bag. She withdrew a long strip of beef jerky and offered it to them.

They sniffed at it cautiously before snatching it from her hands and quickly running off a short distance away. Nibbling on the jerky brought them a new experience of flavor they’d never had before and greedily scarfed it down. They returned to the group, hand held out for more.

The orc laughed at this. “You precious darling! Do you want more then? In that case, you should come with us!”

They tilted their head, hand still held out expectantly.

“Mm, a small one like you shouldn’t be all alone out there,” the woman sighed. “Join us, we’ll be a better home than the desert ever was, you understand darling?”

Double Trouble said nothing. But when the orc shrugged her shoulders and ordered the group to move, they followed. They would keep out of sight at first, only snatching their take at meal times before disappearing into shadows. Gradually however, they grew used to their newfound family and became part of the group, now sitting with them whenever they stopped to rest.

–

“They fed me, clothed me, and when they asked how to refer to me,” Double Trouble continued their story. “I had no answer for I couldn’t speak their language yet. But I was aware enough to learn about this so called ‘gender construct’ and when they asked again, I just shrugged. It was not a concept I believed in and they understood and accepted that.”

–

The big one I came to learn was the ringleader of this motley band. And that this troupe did lot of traveling because they were artists! Some acted out thrilling stories, others played music. This faun dude especially was a skilled juggler. The orc though, she was her own class, everyone respected her and she kept this ensemble tightly knit. And she was a damn good cook.

She never gave me a name but would always call me a darling. She taught me how to speak their words. She encouraged me to get along others and find my place in the group.

And so it was one fateful day when the ringleader was delivering orders, I was sitting behind her and decided it’d be fun to mimic her. First it was following the movements of her hands, then it was copying her voice, and soon enough I even matched in appearance. My talents weren’t so well developed at the time so I only managed a miniature of her, but the reaction was instantaneous.

The entire troupe whooped and cheered me on this newfound ability and the orc, even as she was doubling over in laughter was so proud and praised me, congratulating on finding my niche at last in this group.

I quickly became a stage favorite since I could swap roles in a second and my acting was flawless, you could say I was always the star of the show. We got top billing in each town we visited. On my sixteenth birthday or their best guess mate, when I was as tall as you are, the ringleader bought me a pair of really nice leather boots. And so rest is history as goes my sense of fashion!

But before I get too far ahead of myself, I should add that not every stay in a village met with such success. We would run into tough crowds and that’s where the group turned to...well, not so legal means.

You know the juggler? Well he was also a really accomplished thief and pickpocket. And the one who had a talent for breaking out of chains and taught me valuable escape skills? Master locksmith, she could break her way into any rich snob’s home and we’d make off with bulging pockets of jewels and gold.

Who me? What was my special job as a partner in crime? Why I did what I did best – distraction. I was never caught and the confusion of people who thought they saw me in two different places at the same time when I was copying a body before mass chaos followed earned me the stage name of Double Trouble.

Eventually all things come to an end however. At the tender age of twenty, I decided I wanted to strike out on my own and bid farewell to the troupe that had been my home for most of my life.

–

“You...just left like that?” Catra said softly.

“Well you know me,” Double Trouble shrugged. “It was about money for me, and being alone means I don’t have to split it with others.”

“But...you’re different now, right?” Catra shifted uncomfortably.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dredge up any bad memories for you,” Double Trouble smiled reassuringly at them. “No, as aggravating it is sometimes, you’ve gotten me...to care about you guys...ugh! See how painful that was for me to admit that?”

They made a mock expression of anguish which caused Catra to chuckle. They smiled gently at her before rolling over to get a better look at the kittens.

“Can I hold one of them?” they asked genuinely.

Catra purred at that. “Of course, just be extra gentle please.”

“I like this one,” they said as they reached to pet a tuxedo kitten with their finger. “They kept looking at me.”

“They’re blind,” Catra rolled her eyes at that. “They can’t see yet.”

“BUT this one was definitely facing my way,” Double Trouble crooned. “They were paying attention!”

Carefully they picked the black and white kitten up, cradling them in their lap.

“...Though I am surprised,” Catra inclined her head. “That one’s usually the whiniest of the bunch, always calling for our attention. But...they’ve been pretty quiet while you were telling your story.”

“Mhmm, a fellow admirer of tales,” Double Trouble smirked. “Do they have a name yet?”

“No, do you want to name them?”

“You’d give me that honor?” Double Trouble stifled a gasp. “You absolutely sure? I could name them something weird, you know.”

“I don’t think you will,” Catra snorted. “But if you do, I’ll just veto you.”

“Hmm...” they hummed in thought before declaring. “June.”

“Oh, that’s not a bad name,” Catra approved. “Does that mean anything?”

“Mm, it’s just a name I heard once,” Double Trouble sighed, stroking the kitten’s soft fur. “Nothing too important.”

–

Silently, untold to Catra or the kittens, Double Trouble’s memory hearkens back to a once happy time. One wonderful moment that changed to tragedy in an instant.

Visit our thespian when they have just turned twenty years of age, post party celebrating another year of their survival on this planet.

They are about to turn in for the night when they are stopped by the ringleader.

“Double Trouble, darling,” the orc speaks softly to them, her curly hair streaked with gray and wrinkles in their face showing her advanced age. “Are you well? You’ve been...restless this evening.”

“Ringleader,” Double Trouble responded innocently. “I don’t know whatever you mean.”

“...You want to leave this troupe, don’t you?” the orc sighed wearily. “And you don’t have to keep calling me that, you know my name.”

The lizard flinched at that, quickly assuming their facade of cheerfulness. “Oh, was I that obvious? Guess I’ve still got to work on my emotional cues!”

But the orc sadly shook her head. “Lying isn’t very becoming of you, darling.”

Double Trouble slumped their shoulders and turned away from her. The taller woman laid a hand on their shoulder. “It’s all right, every chick must leave their nest eventually. I just didn’t realize it would happen so soon. But you’ve always been a fiercely independent child and I couldn’t be prouder of the talented adult you’ve grown into.”

They turned Double Trouble to her, lifting their chin so they could look up to her. “You were like one of my own, I’ll always love you.”

She hugged them tightly. Withdrawing, she added. “I’ll set you up with provisions for your journey, but don’t be a stranger okay? Visit us once in a while, would you?”

“I will,” Double Trouble nodded. “Thank you...June.”

Alas it was not to be. A Horde incursion came across a village Double Trouble’s old troupe had been staying at and wiped out everyone. The Rebellion did nothing even as cries for help were sent out because this was the Crimson Wastes. No one came to the back country of civilization rejects.

Cursing their name, Double Trouble swore to never to give in their weakness again and closed off their heart. Vengeance in mind, they became a mercenary – selling their talents to the highest bidder or most promising client only to eventually betray them for the other side.

Such was their life, they had no regrets. But that changed when they met Catra. She was different from the cold, uncaring customers who ordered them around, caring nothing for but the job being done.

She tried to make friends with them, as misplaced as that they knew their inevitable nature. And even then, when they simply could have turned away after being released by Glimmer and being paid.

They still returned to Horde. They told some harsh truths that needed to be heard. Yes they hurt Catra, but they also helped her.

Because despite everything. They still cared. And somehow that was the catalyst that saved Catra and soon, the universe.

My, my. I made for an impressive supporting actor, didn’t I? I wonder if they’ll ask for an encore? Double Trouble thought fondly as they looked over the purring kitten in their hands, a small smile on their lips.


End file.
